Chennaiyai Pidi, Kotayil Kodi (Capture Chennai and the flag will fly at Fort St. George), was once a popular slogan among the cadre of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.
Over the years, Chennai was considered a DMK bastion. The party’s stalwarts favoured contesting from constituencies in the city. Its president, M. Karunanidhi, contested nine consecutive elections from here between 1967 and 2006, winning every time. While the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam did not lose an Assembly election under M.G. Ramachandran, the party could never convincingly sweep Chennai.
The DMK registered its first significant victory in the metropolis in 1959, when it won the Corporation election. A.P. Arasu became the Mayor.
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Even when a sympathy wave following the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi swept the AIADMK to power in 1991, Mr. Karunanidhi and Parithi Ellamvazhuthi held fort in Harbour and Egmore constituencies, respectively.
But the last two elections have brought under question the assumption of Chennai being the DMK’s citadel. In 2006, while the AIADMK lost the polls, it fared surprisingly well in Chennai by cornering seven of the 16 seats. In 2011, the AIADMK swept all but two constituencies in the city.
The first signs that the DMK was losing hold of Chennai emerged during the local body elections in October 2001. A combine of the AIADMK, the Congress and the Tamil Maanila Congress established a majority in the Chennai Corporation Council, winning more wards than the DMK could.
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How does one explain the growing strength of the AIADMK in Chennai? One explanation is the increase in migrant population in the city. While the AIADMK had its main base in villages and small towns, the number of people moving in from these centres to Chennai has slowly gone up in the past two decades, a shift that reflects in the voting pattern.
“Secondly, at one point the city had numerous slum settlements. The bulk of votes from these settlements went to the DMK since they consciously cultivated it. But once the Slum Clearance Board was established and housing colonies were built in various places, the focus was lost and these votes got splintered. This was one reason DMK began losing some of its strongholds such as Triplicane,” says Dravidian historian ‘Sangoli’ Thirunavukkarasu. Also, he feels the party had ignored committed workers for those who took a backdoor entry into the organisation. These late entrants bagged the ticket in elections.
“The local wing is the link between the people and the party. Once you choose to ignore area leaders, a weakening is inevitable,” he says.
However, DMK leaders feel 2016 might give a favourable verdict to the party, given the dent in the image of the ruling party following the December floods. Party spokesperson Manuraj Shunmugasundaram says the civil and cultural infrastructure of Chennai was inextricably linked to the party.
“The mishandling of the [release of water from the] Chembarambakkam reservoir and the poor response to the sufferings caused by the floods have caused deep resentment,” he says.